A week ago Mike and Danielle came to visit from Massachusetts. It was their first trip to San Diego and we were psyched to have them. They're so super laid back, which we are too so we had just a couple of things planned and played the rest of the weekend by ear. Unfortunately they arrived during the peak of May Gray/June Gloom, San Diego's crappy season. It's not so much that it rains a lot, it is just not 100% warm and sunny every minute of the day, like the rest of the year. So of course they get here and it's only about 68 degrees with drizzle, which would last most of the weekend.
On Friday Mike and Danielle wanted the quintessential So Cal experience so they signed up for surfing lessons in Mission Beach. I hung around and took some photos and video. I have to say, for their first time they both did a great job. Both of them were standing on their boards in no-time. I think maybe they should reconsider their day-jobs and and move to San Diego to become beach bums.
The next day we spent at the world famous San Diego Zoo. Jeff and I are members there and love to visit so when Danielle and Mike said they wanted to go, of course, we were up for it. We made a day of it and saw nearly the whole thing. One positive aspect of the cool overcast weather is that the animals at the zoo are more active. We saw of lot of neat species this time including the koalas, giant pandas, hippos, hyenas and best of all, the brand new Elephant Odyssey exhibit that had its grand opening just the week before. This was the highlight of the zoo visit for me. They have a simulated tar pit exhibit that is a must see. I didn't know that we have one of the largest tar pits in the world, just outside L.A. I guess this is pretty common knowledge around here but I had never heard of it. I can't wait to go some weekend to see the La Brea Tar Pits. Thanks SDZ for the cool (or should I say hot) exhibit.
Our last night in town we walked around Old Town San Diego and went out for dinner at the Cafe Coyote for some authentic Mexican food and Margaritas. Se snapped this photo in front of this hot sauce store because we liked the sign "hot licks". Yummy! We also stopped at the Whaley House and the old El Campo Santo Cemetery but didn't see any ghosts. Aw well, maybe next time.
We loved having Mike and Danielle visit us here in So Cal and hope they come back again soon. We barely scratched the surface of all the things there are to do here so hopefully when they come back the weather will be a little nicer and we can get around to see more of what San Diego has to offer.
